June 12, 2012

A collection of framing and furniture elements for creating a sense of place Add image of the suite

Kalamazoo, MI (June 1, 2012)- Landscape Forms, the industry leader in integrated collections of high-design site furniture and advanced LED lighting, announces the introduction of UrbanEdge, a collection of landscape framing and furniture elements for urban spaces. The collection is designed by Seattle-based Gustafson Guthrie Nichol (GGN), the recipients of the prestigious 2011 Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award in Landscape Architecture. UrbanEdge pairs GGN’s experience in designing urban spaces with Landscape Forms’ expertise in developing and manufacturing beautiful site furnishings that address issues in urban environments; built to perform and endure under conditions of heavy urban use.

UrbanEdge responds to the demand for more outdoor public areas with an interest in less formal, more welcoming spaces, and effective use of scarce available urban space. UrbanEdge is a tool for designers to create unique yet functional sites; defining edges and turning dead corners into outward oriented settings that interface with the urban fabric. It helps designers construct places for orienting and organizing, resting and reflecting, meeting and greeting, people watching and taking in a view. It can be used to create curbside transit stops and “eddies” along sidewalks where people step in and out of the flow; to develop niches and focused social settings within larger spaces; and to enrich experience in outdoor spaces with dynamic and kinetic furniture elements that suit the way we interact today.

GGN designers took inspiration from the social interactions in many types of spaces – lunch rooms, living rooms, transit stops, and play grounds and extracted their relaxed, informal spirit to design furniture elements that enliven them. UrbanEdge family consists of MAX Trellis; JESSIE Railing; GUS Planter; OLLIE Small Seat; SOPHIE Large Seat; BERNIE Bar Height Seat; and STELLA Table. Frames include the trellis, railing system and planter. Core elements are the seating and table pieces that live within defined spaces and activate the core, enhancing the experience of place.
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UrbanEdge family members are multifaceted and work together in multiple combinations. UrbanEdge was created by designers for designers. Its focus is on the functionality of spaces and facilitates a wide range of activities. The suite of furnishings can be combined in inventive ways to energize outdoor settings and provide varied opportunities for people to interact within the same space over time. UrbanEdge is a dynamic resource for maximizing under-leveraged urban space, designing vibrant, integrated urban settings and creating a sense of place.